Hello Sunshine

"Not for long, I just want to see..." Well. Maybe she didn't want to after all.

The skeleton is a relatively old one- old in the sense of how long it's been there, that is. The person it once belonged to had clearly not been old, or even full-grown.

"Was that... you?" she whispers. She has the feeling she knows the answer anyway.

 

She can feel his discomfort bubbling in the back of her mind. .....yeah.... uhm. It... I wasn't very... oh! hey!

A heavy weight drops into one of Corrie's hands. Here! This was mine! It can... I dunno, I figure you'll find something useful to do with it? It's a tent peg, but... uhm. It was a good one? Really sturdy.

 

He doesn't want to talk about it, apparently. Fair enough. Corrie doesn't see herself wanting to talk about the whole sunstroke thing much, either. Looking at your own skeleton has got to be weird, too. Still- it seems wrong to just do nothing about human remains you've found.

Then the tent-peg falls into her hand (he can just pop this into existence?!), and she reflexively mutters "thank you." She considers the thing. It certainly looks like it would have been sturdy before the above-ground half of it was scorched mostly to charcoal, but she doesn't have a tent to put up or anything, so... maybe she can figure something else out later? Or. Charcoal. Maybe she can kill two birds with one stone...

Corrie brushes dirt off of part of the stone, just above the skull. This is hardly her usual medium, but she can at least leave some kind of mark of remembrance behind. After a moment's consideration, she starts with a half-circle...

 

She can feel Sunshine's attention focus on her, a curiosity seeping from him and through into her, flooding every synapse. What's that?

 

"You were here. There should be something to show it." He's probably actually asking what it is that she's drawing, but that will become clear shortly. The surface is uneven and the tool is... not exactly the well-behaved charcoal pencil of her art-class days... but it's not the world's most complicated design, either. The half-circle, and then the rays. It comes out a little lopsided, but it's at least clear what the sunburst is supposed to be.

Could be sunrise, could be sunset. Super poetic like that.

"There. Now we can go."

 

He lets out a happy, contented sound. ...thank you.

It feels like he's hugging your soul.

We're going home?

 

Corrie tucks the stake into her belt as she starts walking. "...probably." Assuming they don't insist on the hospital, but if there's nothing physically wrong with her they shouldn't be able to keep her there long anyway, right?

Oh, shit, she hasn't got half the pictures she'd been hoping for. But... yeah, she's not staying here. She'll take the spare camera back out one more time for some night shots on the way- the canyon is really quite pretty when you're not dying- even if the quality won't be as good.

The boulder she woke up under is definitely going to be her first subject.

 

Oh! We had something to do? Sunshine asks curiously. Should we do the thing? Is it important?

He shuffles through her brain, then lets out an excited little flicker of fire. Oooh! It's for money! If we get more money, we can do more fun things, right?

 

You can hear me? thinks Corrie. That's good. Convincing people that she's fine would probably be tricky while talking to "herself".

...she could live without the active brain-rifling, mind you, but if all he's going to do about it is encourage her to work, that's a small thing.

That is true. I'd need to get the rest of my stuff to do it right, though.

 

Then let's go! I want to watch you work! he says excitedly. Is it fun?

Something nudges her legs forwards a bit, like he's trying to make her move. Pleeeease?

 

"Whoa! Settle down!" Corrie does not like that. But after a moment of alarm, it's clearly just... nudging. It's an excitable kid tugging at her sleeve, with weird ghost powers. Doesn't mean she has to go anywhere. You'll see it soon enough, all right, Sunshine? Probably sooner if you don't do that.

...but yes. It's lots of fun.

 

Aww... He sighs. Okaaaay. But we'll do it soon? I guess that's alright! What was wrong with me doing that? Isn't it okay?

 

Corrie could try to explain bodily autonomy to a dead, what, ten-year-old? It doesn't seem like a conversation likely to bear fruit...

It's very unpleasant for me. Very not fun, she tries.

 

A moment of thoughtful silence. ...oh... okay.. I guess. Are we gonna get our stuff?

 

I'll see if I can find another way up.

The residual warmth is still enough to make someone sweat, but any urgency is gone. Corrie ambles along the length of the place at an easygoing rate this time, eventually digging that spare water bottle out- untouched; rationing really didn't serve her well, did it?- and taking a swig. It's warm, too, but it's still nice.

 

Sunshine lets out a wave of pleasure. Oh! Water! Can we go somewhere with lots of water to drink. That's so good.

 

You reach the top in a fair amount of time, and hear rustling coming from your backpack.

 

Chrissakes. ...on the bright side, her gear seems to be here?

There aren't any decent sticks in sight, so instead Corrie nudges the backpack sharply with her foot, then takes a step back to watch what happens.

 

The lizard attempts to hide further in, then cautiously squirms in a circle, securing itself in its' hidey-hole and peering out with a mouthful of jerky in his jaws.

 

Is that-?

After all she's been through, Corrie only vaguely remembers that Gila monster. She certainly wouldn't be able to recognize its markings. There is absolutely no possible way that this can be the ridiculously photogenic reptile from this morning, and it's not as if she has any means of telling if it is or not. And honestly, at this point she only really cares about getting her stuff back- whatever hasn't been eaten, that is- without anything trying to chew venom into her.

"Aren't animals supposed to be scared of ghosts?" she asks the Gila monster. At this point, she wouldn't even be surprised if it answered her.